Gilbert Woodbury
Gilbert Woodberry * hydrim * USA * vessels of the aquarians * previous Nephilim name was Satyagraha Travel photojournalist = Description: = = Bio: = Born 1979, of Harriet Woodberry and unknown father of asian phenotype, in the community of the Vessels of the Aquarians, near LaFarge, Wisconsin. The Vessels of the Aquarians (VA) are a fairly innocuous cult quite well established in the area. They live in a large family type structure, in an isolated valley. The community counts roughly a 100 people, all descendant on some level of the male branch of the family, the Fathers. "The Father" at this time is Henry Woodberry, and his wife "The Mother" is Rosamund Woodberry. Henry is a stern, charismatic but benevolent leader who spends little time with the children. The only significant contact Gilbert ever had with him, was during his coming of age ceremony, at 15yo, when Henry gave him a pendant of a wing and rose (symbols of the angels and of Jesus’ bloodline) that signified that he was now a true vessel of the angels, that the call could come any instant and that Gilbert was now trusted to come and go out of the community without betraying its ideals and rules. every VA wears such a pendant, and to that day, Gilbert still wears his. It is the symbol of his roots. Rosamund, the Mother, is in charge of the everyday running of the community and is more a pragmatic than a loving figure. She is also in charge of the education and transmission of the lore. Gilbert lives a golden childhood, surrounded by his mother and the many loving adults and children of the community. He is homeschooled until 15, and the community provides him with a very wide array of skill: From in-depth knowledge of the bible, as well as many other religions and teachings of the world, to several languages, including latin. The children are taught about modern technologies, arts and sciences, and even taught the rudiments of a form of intense hand-to hand fighting called Krav-Maga. Surprisingly for such a religious-based community, Gilbert’s interest in tarot isn’t chastised either. The core beliefs of the cult are that the Father is a direct descendant of the Christ, which makes his offspring the only possible vessels for the Angels of Heaven to inhabit as they travel down to earth in their missions to help humanity. The lore says that the angels of the previous age (Capricorn) were not inclined to intervene in human affairs, but that the new angels of the Aquarius are more involved and desire to share their wisdom and abilities, but for that, they need willing vessels who should be very educated and skilled, but also always ready to leave everything behind if and when they receive the call from the angels. Which means that members of the VA are not allowed to have long lasting jobs or meaningful connections outside of the community. Gilbert has witnessed first-hand the disparition of members receiving the call. Usually one to two a year. They would sometimes come back, often to bring the call to another person, and they were changed in a way: More mysterious, with an aura of strangeness and magic. At age 15, Gilbert goes to LaFarge high-school ("Go Wild Cats!") where he only socialise superficially with his schoolmates, most of them spooked by the reputation of the cult, yet too worried by the fighting skills of the VA children to really bully them too much. He then goes to uni (University of Wisconsin - Richland, "Go RoadRunners!") where he studies creative writing and journalism, but his curious nature pushes him to explore the world, which he starts doing, documenting his voyages through photography. Quickly, he learns to combine his writing and photographic skills and become a photojournalist and travel-writer, spending most of his time traveling, often in rough conditions, and coming back to visit the community only every three years or so. ' '''He isn’t thinking about the angels anymore, when, at age 33, he has an extremely vivid dream of a beautiful, silent angel looking down on him. As he wakes up, he knows, without understanding how, that he must travel to France, to a small farm in remote Ardeche (“Le bosc”, in Sabliere). Understanding that he has received the call of the angels, he follows his dream and travels to France, where he does find the farm of the dream! There, he is greeted by four people, Denise, Jean-Luc, Dorothée and Frederic, who explain to him that they will be his new mentor, teaching him the basics of his angelic powers. Indeed, the dream was not just the call of the angel, it was the angel entering him and becoming one with him: he is now an angel, and with it comes new responsibilities, and new abilities. The four mentors are not angels themselves, but they know enough of the theory to teach him. With them, he learns of the nature of magic, as well as of the different types of magic. He learns about Nephilims, about the powers they wield, and the dangers they face, such as several forms of contaminations, as well as the human secret society hell-bent on hunting, killing, or maiming them for their own nefarious purposes. He learns about the secret history of the world and how the immortals have organised themselves to impact the world as they see fit. The humans also try to teach them a secret form of magic that they are developing, that uses the sun Ka and that they hope he may some day learn to use himself. ' '''13th of January 2015, after reminding Gilbert of the utmost importance for him not to ever mention to any others, angels or not, who he met in Ardeche or what they taught him, his mentors send him on his way to start his new life as an angel. He has still much to learn, but that he must learn without them. He will travel to Lyon, to meet with Adele and Rachid Grosjean, and with Mme Rolande, a mature angel who will be his new mentor. Category:Main Characters Category:Characters Category:Water nephilim Category:Nephilim characters Category:The Fountain characters